With Superman & Lois coming to an end Monday night on The CW, there’s been a lot of reflecting both on the DC inspired series as well as the network’s larger Arrowverse franchise as well. While fans know that Superman & Lois doesn’t exactly exist within the shared universe, the series does have strong ties to it — after all, both Tyler Hoechlin and Elizabeth Tulloch first appeared as versions of their characters on Supergirl and The Flash. But despite being a separate series, Superman & Lois almost crossed over with the proper Arrowverse. Unfortunately, Covid got in the way.
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Speaking at a panel during San Francisco Fan Expo (via ScreenRant), Tulloch revealed that the series would have crossed over with Batwoman, but by the time filming started, the restrictions in place due to the pandemic were too strict, making the idea become something from the realm of “what might have been”.
“We started shooting in October of 2020, so there were really, really strict Covid restrictions and there was some talk of maybe doing a crossover with Batwoman, and then they were like, let’s just, no,” Tulloch said.
[RELATED: Superman & Lois Showrunners Wanted Series to Last a Lot Longer Than Four Seasons]
Covid restrictions weren’t the only thing that got in the way of a Superman & Lois/Batwoman crossover, however. The two series were also filmed in different formats, something that created issues of its own. But the scrapped Batwoman crossover wasn’t the only Arrowverse crossover that was considered. Tulloch also said that there was a nod to Supergirl that was taken out of the Superman & Lois pilot, explaining that there was a photo of Supergirl’s Melissa Benoist with Hoechlin and Tulloch that was supposed to be on Lois’ desk — but it was taken out.
“That was around when the discussions were happening about us maybe not being a part of the Arrowverse per se,” Tulloch said.
Superman & Lois Still Found Ways to Bring In Parts of the Arrowverse
While the Supergirl photo and the Batwoman crossover never happened, Superman & Lois still found ways to acknowledge their Arrowverse roots for fans. Over the course of the series’ four seasons, Superman & Lois featured a number of guest stars who appeared in the Arrowverse, though they weren’t necessarily playing their Arrowverse counterparts. Appearances from stars such as David Ramsey appearing as a version of John Diggle and Jenna Dewan as a version of Lucy Lane. Tom Cavanagh also appeared in the final season of the series not as Harrison Wells, but as Gordon Godfrey.
“When we were trying to come up with analogues of who this guy could be, personality-wise, when we started describing him hit just felt like we were describing someone tom could play with his eyes closed, his comic timing and just everything about his energy level,” showrunner Todd Helbing told ComicBook. “It just felt perfect.”
Superman & Lois airs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET on The CW. The series finale airs Monday, December 2nd.